Nuptial Trends: Garden Theme!

This week, I thought we could look at how to pull off a Garden Themed wedding. I have never been to one of these weddings but I imagine they’d be beautiful, romantic and well, pretty green. This topic came from a friend who’s helping her sister plan a Garden Theme wedding for next July in Long Island; I’m always open to ideas so if you ever have one you’d like to see, feel free to let me know!

First off, I imagine these garden weddings would have to be outside. Possible backdrops for the ceremony are well, gardens for one, or even just trees or a lake.

For outdoor weddings, I love cute little signs pointing the guests in the right direction. You can do a fancier printed sign in your color scheme or even write with some chalk on a piece of wood.

Another way to point guests in the right direction is lining up a row of lanterns. “Follow the yellow brick…lantern.”

Another ceremony decor option is hanging up moss letters with your initials. The more you do that incorporates nature and flowers, the more this theme will show.

For the aisle, I like the idea of hanging flowers or potted plants adorning the pews.

A ribbon-decorated basket filled with ceremony programs is another way to bring in any accent colors you may be using.

Having an outdoor wedding in the middle of the summer? Protect your guests from the heat! Options include:

Fans at each chair,

parasols in a basket,

and refreshments! If you don’t have a catering staff available to serve lemonade as your guests arrive, a bucket of ice and bottled waters will also do the trick!

For your flower girl and ring bearer, make sure their baskets are adorned with an abundance of flowers and moss.

For the bride, a more casual dress would work best; as opposed to a beaded ball gown. I love the idea of a floral pattern, like this one from J. Crew.

Whether you choose an updo or not, I think a flower in the bride’s hair is a nice touch to the garden theme.

Speaking of flowers, bouquets should showcase lots of greens!

Also, incorporate your accent color into the flowers. Here we have pops of pink and purple.

For the bridesmaids, I chose to focus on different green options but really I think you could make any color work. Well, maybe not black. I’m having trouble envisioning a black garden themed wedding, but it does not mean it’s impossible! It’s YOUR day; anything goes.

For a fun vibe, I love this almost muted lime green color, very bright. For a slightly more formal look, I like this lace halter option, very romantic.

One way to have your MOH stand out is to have her in a longer dress like these girls in the light sage green. Another friendly and fun option? Have your girls pick their own dress to flatter their body types; or in the case to the right, in different shades!

A neat way to incorporate the theme into your pictures is to use props! Posing in front of trees and carrying parasols make for fun pictures to remember your day by.

Onto the reception…

For place cards, I love the casualness of these green cards hanging on the “clothesline”. Another option, using apples! Fruit is a fitting nod to your garden theme.

Other ideas are to use floral-patterned place cards or tack them to a sheet of moss.

I love the way this gold (probably spray painted) birdcage is used here to hold cards.

Another way to use birdcages (or even lanterns) are to have them as part of your centerpieces, along with candles, flowers or even fruit.

Other centerpiece options would be large displays of flowers, the more greenery the better. (Bird nest optional)

For table numbers, I found this bird and nest one that screams garden/nature, but for a more subtle look, a simple green floral pattern works well.

For cakes, I found so many options that had me think “That’d be perfect!” One of my favorite looks would be a relatively simple cake with a few LARGE flowers adorning it.

Another option is a cake decorated with MANY tiny flowers; either in white or an accent color.

A simpler cake would be an all white one with fresh cut flowers along the base and/or on the top. And of course, we can’t leave out the bird nest option…

Another way to tie in the theme is through your signature drink. You could make it green, or other accent color, or even tie in nature like this one, called “Apple of My Eye”.

Finally, for favors, I found these throw blankets. What better way to send your guests off from your garden themed wedding than with a blanket they can use for their next picnic?

Have you ever been to a garden themed wedding? I’d love to hear about it!

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All images courtesy of the Knot

Lauren and Joe

Since Lauren was our featured wife this week --lets take a quick look at her beautiful wedding last year. Enjoy the clip and read Lauren's feature right below this post.

A Wedding Story: Lauren!

This week's Wedding Story is from Lauren Gemma. Currently residing in South Carolina, Lauren is a Rhode Island native who had her 2009 wedding in the lovely Ocean State. With that, here's Lauren...When did you get married?
July 24, 2009

The flowers for Lauren's wedding were all provided by Golden Gate Studios.
Where was your ceremony? Reception?
Ceremony was in the Fairview Room at Quidnessett Country Club, and the reception was also at Quidnessett in the Narragansett Room.What made you choose that reception location?
Quidnessett is a beautiful venue! We have been to several weddings there and each one was a blast. The food was always excellent, grounds were kept in great condition, and the staff always seemed friendly. You definitely get your money's worth with Quidnessett. The entire staff is so easy to work with; we were very pleased with how much they helped us execute all of our wedding plans!What was your favorite aspect of your wedding?
Having most of our family and friends with us, all in the same place, on one of the best days of our lives was very special. Once the big day arrived and all the planning was done, it was so much fun to sit back and watch everyone have a blast.

Lauren and her hubby took black and white photos in various locations with large white cardboard numbers in hand to use as their table numbers - a very creative and personal touch!What was the best resource you used during the planning process?
By far it was The Knot. I used that web site almost every single day! I was able to find vendors, reviews, create my guest list, and the girls on the RI board were great! They gave so many honest opinions and ideas that really helped me while planning my wedding.What's the one thing you would have done differently?
It actually doesn't have to do with the wedding day, but with the honeymoon plans. We used a timeshare that we exchanged for our honeymoon. Because it was a timeshare, we had to go from a Saturday-Saturday. Since our wedding didn't end until midnight on Friday, it was a little hard to get up for a 4:30am ride to the airport to catch a flight. We had a blast and were too excited to even really think about it at the time, but if we were to do it again, not on a timeshare with scheduled days, I would have definitely taken a day to unwind/relax and left on the Sunday or Monday.Any advice for future brides?
I know it seems as though it will take forever for your wedding to finally get here, but trust me, it comes faster than you think! Enjoy your time being engaged and have fun with all of the planning! At times it will get super stressful, especially at the end when you feel like you can't possibly make one more decision, but keep thinking about how much fun it'll be and how amazing it will be to see everything come together on the big day! Get whatever DIY projects and whatnot done early so you don't have to rush at the end. Pay attention to small details, but if something doesn't get done, I promise that no one else will notice on the big day. Make YOUR decisions, stick to them, and remember that at the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is that you and your hubby will finally be married!

I agree with you, Lauren. If possible, it is beneficial to take the day after your wedding to sleep in, relax and recap your day with family and friends. We had a brunch with our parents and out of town guests and got to hear everyone's stories and points of view of the wedding night. When we left for our honeymoon the next day, we were refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to head to Aruba!

All photos courtesy of John Lovgren.

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